


Seashell Memorial

by AyaTheMidorian



Series: Temperate Relations [3]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, Major Original Character(s), Sad times, comforting times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-13 14:12:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11761584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AyaTheMidorian/pseuds/AyaTheMidorian
Summary: Winter is not the only season full of danger. Jack and Julius both know this all too well.





	Seashell Memorial

There was wind in the leaves and the waves. The water made soft peaks, white foam that blended into the pale gray skyline. Jack glanced down at the frost inching over the sand he was sitting on. Despite his efforts, his Cold was spreading along the beach. He'd already altered the weather by carrying the chilled North Wind all the way to the islands in the middle of summer. Even so, he did not regret coming as soon as his gut had told him something was wrong. 

_Jack found Julius on his knees, a wreck in his stiflingly hot bedroom. He was clutching the sides of his head, curled into the corner of the room and sobbing. When Jack reached out to him, Julius snapped his head up in surprise. His brown eyes shone with tears that still dripped along the tracks on his cheeks. His expression held such pain, such grief and so much fear. Jack knelt down in front of him, trying not to flinch away from the radiating heat._

_“What happened?”_

Julius finally sat down next to Jack. the frost stopped spreading, forming a crystalline line between them. His eyes were swollen, his face still a little red. He stared out at the dark glassy waves in silence. Jack turned his gaze to the small assortment of items laid out in front of them. 

_“ I'm sorry,” Julius immediately gasped. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I didn't mean to do it…”_

_“ Whoa, slow down. Do what?” Jack asked, gently taking Julius’s hands down from his head. “Tell me what happened.”_

_“I…” Julius paused and gulped back another sob. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone...I just...wanted them to…”_

_Julius fell back into crying. Jack hugged him without thinking, and he winced at the heat on his skin. But he let Julius’ tears hit his neck, even as his frost melted away and they began to feel like droplets of boiling water in his skin._

There were four different seashells placed in a neat row in the sand. There was a cowry, a sand dollar, a scallop, and a cerith that had been polished carefully. Behind the shells was a gleaming piece of sea glass, filed down into a small cross. On the sides of the cross were two tealight candles. Julius held a box of matches in his hands. Finally, there was a small boat carved from the wood of the palm trees on the beach.

_“I-tr-tried-to-push-back the-fr-front!” Julius’ words were punctuated with sorrowful gasps as he tried to explain around his grieving and breathe at the same time. “Just for-a-little-whiiile…”_

_"Oh...god..." Jack regretted speaking, for the horror in his voice made Julius sob harder. He was starting to choke, so Jack rubbed his back and tried to slow his breathing. His fingertips pressed frost into Julius's shirt, though it melted almost immediately._

_"I...just w-wanted...!" Julius coughed out as soon as he could breathe a little bit more easily. Jack clamped his mouth shut. He didn't want to speak yet. He felt that he shouldn't, because he **knew.**_

Julius placed each seashell gently on the wooden boat. He stuck the glass cross in front of its tiny sail, and placed the tealights behind the sail. Jack watched him, not saying a word. 

The sun was beginning to set. Julius struck a match, and it flared with the same orange of the horizon. He touched it to the each candle's wick and let them start glowing. Then he shook the match out and set the box behind him. 

_They were not deities, and their power was not absolute. Although seasonal spirits had great influence over the weather, there were still parts that were out of their control. These parts were proud and quick to anger, and fighting them was not wise, no matter how angry they made the spirits of the Seasons._

_Jack could barely make out what Julius was sobbing into his hoodie, but still he understood. After a few minutes, Julius quieted down to sniffles and hoarsely recounted what had happened._

_They had been college students on vacation together. The four of them had been boating into the middle of the ocean, perhaps just seeing how far they could go. Humans seemed to enjoy that kind of exploration. They were a long way out from the Isles when Julius spotted them. He'd made the day bright and gorgeous, and though he saw tourists around Seychelles every day during summer, he was proud of the weather he'd made. Of course a forecast of thunder and rain wouldn't do._

Julius pushed the boat to the edge of the water. The surf lapped at the sand, pulling in grains ever so slowly.

_He had to be careful not to make the day too hot. He could command the wind to push around the clouds, and swirl the air to scatter the sun's rays a bit. Today, he felt strong. He wouldn't let a stubborn cold front get in the way of a memorable summer vacation. Humans were always so disappointed when they were forced inside at the threatening presence of deep gray clouds and the telltale war drums of a summer storm. He felt that holding the front back would let the students sail in and enjoy the day on the beach before any storms hit the area._

_But cold fronts were ornery beings. They did not take kindly to being fought. Even more than warm fronts, cold fronts demanded power and respect in the sky. The front that met Julius in the air was no exception. Frustrated, Julius pressed harder, and this was his mistake._

_He heard the water, and he heard the thunder. It gave him no other warning. The South Wind frayed at the edge of the cold, splitting down the middle and dropping Julius into the ocean. He was groggy from hard impact, but he didn't require breathing at all times, and was able to stare consciously. He found nothing but horror, horror at the lightning that illuminated the water's surface, horror at the bubbling madness that was the wave pounding over the little boat, horror at the figures being slammed under the water and into the debris. He reached, screamed without thinking, and though he needed no breath, his lungs were not meant to take in water. He choked and struggled to the surface that still raged with frigid turbulence. The Wind brought him home, but amidst the blur of his half-drowned memory he was absolutely certain that he had not seen any moving creature amid that crushed little sailboat._

Julius pushed the wooden memorial onto the water. He swirled his finger behind it, and the waves pulled it away. It continued on, and the two spirits said nothing. Jack held his hand out and Julius took it. He tried not to let anger swell up in him. The front responsible would be hard to find, and fighting it would do nothing, for it was a wild mass of Winter essence. More importantly, Julius didn't need to sense anger now. He was too full of sorrow.

Jack slipped back into his own memories. How many had the cold winter killed? How many elderly, soldiers, orphans? How many graves could he ever hope to make out of ice and frost?

He felt a droplet on his cheek. He glanced up, expecting rain that matched Julius's mood, but though the sky was gray, the clouds were still holding back and it was his own eye that cast water down his face. He let his tears fall into the sand. They froze and gleamed like tiny crystals, and he could see damp indented circles not far from them where Julius knelt.

Night was beginning to fall, but no stars poked out from behind the veil of rain clouds. Droplets were loud on the beach house's metal roof, and they lulled the home into silence along with the waves.

**Author's Note:**

> This hurt to write. Did it hurt to read? Feedback is appreciated.


End file.
